Mark Nelson – Back Story

Part One: Learning the ropes

Mark was naturally born with his left arm only and with small middle fingers on his existing hand. From an early age he loved music and heard songs in his head. At 7, he composed a tune on the family piano, a simple two-fingered piece but one which represented the moods and emotions playing out in his head. It was a breakthrough moment, technically unable to play any instrument at this stage it demonstrated his desire to express himself through music and song.

Several years passed and many failed attempts to play guitar one-handed. Not yet being abnle to play a musical instrument did not deter Mark from writing down songs he imagined in his head. A huge Beatles and 60s music fan, at the age of 11 he began hearing songs by an imaginary band he invented called The Pictures. They were similar to the beatles, and he began piecing together a history for this band and a set of albums with songs he created. He would write next to each song idea a short description of what it sounded like. For example ‘heavy backbeat with jangly guitar, similar to ‘Ticket to Ride’.

Part Two: Making Noise

Having found away of playing the guitar one-handed (& without having to use his feet!), Mark began composing songs to music and realising the songs and noises coming from his head. When he turned 16, he received a bass guitar as a birthday present and began learning bass lines. From there he found a way of recording his ideas albeit crudely, using headphones as microphones and plugged into the family Hi-Fi cassette deck.

Part Three:

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